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The CIA’s been hacking routers just like yours

What WikiLeaks revealed

You know WikiLeaks? Even if you don’t know what it is, you’ve probably heard the name mentioned before. It’s like Dave Matthews Band to me. Sure, I’ve heard of them and get the general idea of who they are, but I couldn’t name you a song to save my life. Yeah, I just said that. Fight me. Anyway, for the last 11 years, WikiLeaks has prided itself on leaking classified documents, sparking controversies involving more people and organizations you’ve surely heard of: Edward Snowden, the US military, the Democratic National Committee. In short, they exist to reveal what they see as serious issues the public ought to know about.

Their recent series of leaks, dubbed Vault 7, started in March and revealed the CIA can and has been hacking into internet-enabled devices such as smartphones and smart TVs. More recent documents from Vault 7, as reported by ZDNet, reveal that the CIA has in fact been hacking into private, public, and business Wi-Fi routers for years. And more than just a few devices are at risk.

Yes, routers, the very thing connecting everyone’s laptops, iPhones, tablets, basically anything that can use Wi-Fi, can be hacked by the government. Meaning that, unbeknownst to you, they can see and track what you do online. While we’ve perhaps grown accustomed to online threats, we’re not supposed to be under threat from our own government. Right?

What your Wi-Fi router exposes about you

If you take nothing else away from this post, it should be to make protecting your router a priority. If your router gets hacked, then any device connected to it is at risk. Of course, this is what your laptop and smartphone connect to. But you might not remember that smartwatch, smart TV, smart refrigerator, smart thermostat, or smart toothbrush (yes, that exists) are at risk when someone hacks into your router.

Once your router is compromised, anything you enter on any device can be picked up by the hacker. They can set up fake websites masquerading as real ones, to collect your passwords. They can control your internet speed. They can even collect incredibly specific information, such as what websites you visit, how long you spend on those sites, and what you do while you’re there.

Hearing that the CIA has this level of access to our data feels like something straight out of a Jason Bourne movie, but in fact it’s reality. The argument against this says, “If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t be scared.” However, it’s not about having anything to hide, it’s about having the right to privacy.

How to preserve your right to privacy online

Given all the above, true internet privacy may seem like a distant memory. On top of that we also have to hide ourselves from ISPs. Fortunately, there’s a solution: a virtual private network.

While you’ve probably heard about Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks, and the CIA, you may not have heard the term virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN keeps you private when you get online by connecting you to encrypted servers worldwide. Because your activity is now routed through these encrypted servers, you’re untrackable by hackers, ISPs, and even the US government. Hide My Ass! protects you when you connect via your devices that are at most risk, such as your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. But what about your router? You might have other smart products you’d like to protect, which are connected to your router. Hide My Ass! Also offers pre-configured routers to protect your entire network from anyone trying to take a peek at your internet activity.